Taking the Captain's Chair: Sharkticon's Tale
by Master Fwiffo
Summary: Pirates of the Iacon Skies 02.  A runin with Decepticons leaves Mirage out of commission, and Sharkticon in the precarious position of command.


TFPirates

Sharkticons Tale

Copyright 2007, masterfwiffo. All rights reserved.

A game such as this requires skill, intelligence, an ability to foresee the future, and great cleverness. So it astounds me that my opponent, who has far greater capabilities in all of these areas than I, always fails to beat me.

"Check Mate."

Mirage topples his General over and leans back. "Once again, I find myself at your mercy, my dear Sharkticon."

I do so ever hate that title. I'm not a 'dear' anything. Never have been, don't intend to be. Mirage knows this too, of course, which is why she - err, he continues to call me it. I make a conscious effort to ignore it, and begin setting up the pieces again. "Another game?"

"Later, perhaps." Mirage answers, rising from his seat and facing the port. Again she's- err, he's got that irritating look in his eyes that always accompanies something he thinks is profound. Something like, "Wherever the Horizon brings us." I hate those speeches too.

But to my surprise, Mirage says nothing of the sort. Instead, he says something I don't expect.

"What would you do if I were to fall in battle, Sharkticon?"

The thought catches me off-guard, and it takes a moment for my mind to reconcile the thought. "I would take command, I suppose." I answer grimly. That's not a thought I actually wish to dwell on. Though Mirage insists that I am competent, I feel no such measure of intelligence myself. Afterall, I am a descendant of the most ignorant of slaves...

Mirages nods, staring grimly at the stars passing. "That then, is what I'd want."

"Come now," I say, trying to lighten the mood, "You're not planning to walk off somewhere and die, are you?"

"Of course not, Sharkticon." He answers. "But death is on my mind as of late."

"I suppose it is." I mutter, thinking solemnly of the recent carnage the Decepticon enforcement patrol inflicted on us. We lost two of our crew - Vanquish and Livewire - and have yet to find replacement. Both were model crewmen. Vanquish had been with us since the days of Captain Hooligan, and Livewire was one of our best fighters. The Decepticons got them both.

The commander of that operation was a Con named Thrust, one we've run into several times before. He hates us, Mirage in particular, though I don't know exactly why (well, other than the general fact that's we've humiliated him several times and continually disrupt Decepticon supply ships under his nose). We've spent the last several months in an endless game of cat and mouse with him, and our latest skirmish was far too close for comfort. In truth, we were lucky to lose only two with the trap he sprang on us. He'll no doubt try again. With him on his mind, it's no wonder Mirage is pondering death.

Mirage remains quiet, staring out the window. Then, surprisingly, his grim demeanor fades. "I'm sure I can count on you." He says, her- err, his voice deepening as he turns. "Come, my dear Sharkticon, let us return to our duties. The crew is getting lazy, no doubt."

I shake my head as Mirage walks past. As far as I can tell, she- err, he can't keep a train of thought for more then a minute. Maybe that's why I always win at our little games.

---

I gaze up at the cavernous opening that houses our main engine, and shake my head. "The imbecile is imaging things." I growl, referring to Arc. The blasted Quint looks up at me, nervousness and shame crossing his current face.

"No," Mirage contradicts me, "He is not. When you've lived with this ship as long as I have, the slightest irregularity becomes obvious. Do you not hear that faint out-of-sync clicking sound?"

"Yes, and it's growing louder!" Arc says anxiously, his fat little body rotating so another one of his five heads can peer at us. "I've been working on these types of engines for years, and I know them. I have to shut her down so I can fix it."

"Foolishness." I growl. "There are Decepticons in the area, we can't leave ourselves vulnerable like that. That click isn't going to hurt anybody."

"You know nothing of mechanics." Arc says defensively, switching to another head. "But I would hardly expect more of a slave like yoursel-"

He gives a sudden squeak as I grab one of his faces by the narrow cheekbones and yank him upwards, glaring into his eyes as his tentacles dangle uselessly in the air. "Finish that sentence you five-faced freak, and you'll be working with only one head." I hiss.

"Put him down, Sharkticon." Mirage says, using a tone I rarely hear directed at me. "Arc, that's enough from you too."

I let go of Arc and he drops to the floor, wheezing like an old man. Pathetic. Mirage ignores both of us. "We'll head into the asteroid field and hide out there - that should give us the protection we need for Arc to shut it down." Mirage turns and leaves rather abruptly.

I glance at Arc as I follow, and then turn back to him. "And if you mess up the engines, we're throwing you out the airlock."

"I didn't say that, Sharkticon." Mirage informs me, tapping on my shoulder. "Ignore him, Arc. Return to your duties."

Arc obeys, scurrying along on his tentacles into the cavernous bowels of the engine. Mirage watches him go, then whirls on me, fire in his eyes. "I have had enough of this."

"You know quite well how I feel about Fiver's." I spit, using the derogatory name for Arcs cursed species.

"I don't care what they did to you," Mirage growls, anger rising in his voice. "Arc has shown nothing but loyalty since he arrived. I will not tolerate your continued harassment of him."

"He's a Quint." I reply firmly, "He's not worth the space he takes up."

"Slaggit Sharkticon, if you don't let off him, I'll throw YOU out the airlock."

I glare back at Mirage, but I know he's serious. "Yes, sir." I grumble.

"What was that?" Mirage demands, anger still in his voice.

"AYE AYE SIR!" I reply, and with that, I turn on my heels and return to my post, still fuming. Mirage and I are close friends, but Arc is our biggest disagreement, the largest we've ever had. The Fiver arrived not less than two months ago, and I cannot tolerate his presence. Mirage doesn't understand - slag, the only one who can even begin to fathom what I've been through is Snowcat. He used to be a Quint slave- but he got off easy.

Even now, the memories still haunt me. The pain... the suffering... The endless torture that was my entire existence... Just thinking about it...

Bah. I hate that Quint.

-----

The Captain's chair is the symbol of authority on a starship. It's reserved entirely for the Captains use, because it's always the captain who needs it the most. In the middle of a firefight, it's the Captain who has to keep his head cool, and for reasons entirely unknown to me, the chair helps with that. Maybe it's just because it's a really comfortable chair. I don't know. Either way, its current occupant has a rather smug look on his face.

"You see, Sharkticon, luck is still with me." He says, a twinkle in his eyes. "We need to shut our engine down, and here we find it - a hiding place, and an opportunity for plunder."

I mutter a response about his luck, but the Captain is right. This is perfect. We're currently hiding in a large asteroid field, a good deal out of the way from any major space lanes, and we just stumbled upon what appears to be an abandoned mining base. Built right into the rock of one of the larger asteroids, the platform is quite obviously empty. No doubt whatever they were mining dried up, and the place was deserted. While we're under no delusions to find anything of valuable here, places like this often have supplies - replacement parts, energy stores, other things, untapped and left for those who may find them. Perfect for a group like ours.

"Cannonball," Mirage says firmly, "Dock with the station. Arc?" He turned to the comm, "Be prepared to shut down. I want the repairs done as soon as possible. We can't risk being in one place for too long."

"Aye, captain." Arc reports back. Mirage switches off the com and turns back. "Well, Sharkticon, shall we go?"

"Aye Captain," I answer, anticipating his orders, "Repugnus, Overbite, Wheeljack, Snowcat. You four are with us."

Mirage steps up to finish. "The rest of you, back to your duties. When I get back, I want this ship cleaner than the day she rolled off the line!"

"Aye!" The response comes. I gather our party and we head out toward the docking port.

-----

Big, dark, cavernous... I can feel condensed moisture hovering in the air from environmental systems still pumping away after all these years... It uncomfortably reminds me of the pits the Fivers kept me in, back then... I shake my head, hoping to clear the memories that threaten to come swirling back. Damn that Quint - his mere presence on the ship keeps my mind dwelling on the past. He better not be messing up those engines. We can't afford to be trapped here with Decepticons in the area. On second thought, let him. Then I can enjoy ripping him apart. Vengeance for those agonizing years of torture, yes...

"You seem distracted of late, Sharkticon." Overbite says quietly, his rough and aged voice wheezing from his processor.

I glance at him in annoyance. Though his strange organic alt-mode shares half of my name, I've never felt anything but apathy toward the old spacer. He's a decent enough fighter, but his rambling stories and often unnecessary 'wise-sayings' tend to annoy me. Especially now.

"Just do your job." I growl.

Overbite gives a wheezing sigh, undoubtedly unhappy at the loss of a chance to distribute his platitudes, then heads off. I turn my attention back to the Captain, who's contemplating the cavernous hallway grimly. We're temporarily halted because the hallway splits into three at this junction, and the Captain is unsure which way to go. At his side, Wheeljack stands waiting for his small Minicon to return. I join them. A few moments later, Windsheer returns, sitting herself on her partner's shoulder and whispering into his audials. She won't talk to us often. Don't know why, because otherwise she's a model crewman, despite her size.

"Windsheer reports that all three hallways stretch indefinitely into the cavern." Wheeljack states after a moment. "As far as she can tell, all three look the same."

Mirage ponders this for a moment. "One of these has to contain the main settlement. We'll split up." He announces. "Wheeljack, take Snowcat and head right. Repugnus, Overbite, you two head down the center. Sharkticon and I will go left. If anyone sees anything, radio - and don't touch anything until I get there."

"Aye captain." The group replies as one, and we head off.

I make sure to walk in front of the Captain. Should a trap be waiting, I'm the expendable one, as far as I'm concerned. Mirage notes this after awhile, and motions me back to him. "You don't like this place, do you." He notes.

"Reminds me of Quintessa." I growl. "Dark, moist, gloomy. Has the stink of Fivers."

"Think it was a Quintesson encampment?"

"Probably. This place is big enough for Guardians. Only Quints use them, for mining mostly."

"Guardians?" Mirage asks, glancing at me. Proud at the opportunity to release a little more of my vast stores of knowledge, I oblige him.

"Big sub-sentient robots, based on a design they found on some backwater planet. Tried to use 'em for combat- but were too clunky."

"Giant versions of you, eh?" Mirage says with a jab at my side.

"Yeah... that." I answer, clamming up. More of those memories coming back now. I shake my head and continue onwards in silence.

Mirage follows. I can't tell if he's aware of what he said, but I don't want to bring it back up. The path stretches for a long time, and then starts to descend, deeper into the station. After awhile, it evens out and we stumble out of the cavernous tunnel, and into an even more cavernous complex. We're fully inside the heart of the asteroid now, and can see the structures built right into the surrounding ore. Three, no, more then that. Eight mining platforms hang above our heads, precariously still attached to the imbedded struts. Junk and machinery are piled up along the walls, covered in layers of dust. The rock itself glows a faint blue, a minuscule side-effect of the precious minerals they must have been mining.

"Would make a good picture." Mirage comments dryly, stepping into the cavern and heading in to inspect the machinery.

"Yes." I reply quietly. My attention isn't focused on the ruined drills, but rather what lies below them. I faintly hear Mirage calling to get my attention, but I don't registr them. I move forward, kneeling down to quietly inspect the bulbous body. The round eyes, the sharp teeth, the tiny, useless arms, the club-like tail... the permanent look that can only be described as animalistic on it's pugish, pushed-in face... My hand reaches out, and caresses the head slowly. This is what I was once. A mindless slave, built only to work and kill. A meager, quiet existence. Perhaps I once longed to be more intelligent. Perhaps I once wanted my life to have meaning. But had I known what that would entail... the pain, the suffering, the mocking laughter of the Quintessons... The eternal fear, not knowing what was happening as their tools descended upon me, and the agonizing screams that followed, filling the entire room as their laughter continued...

I would give it all for it not to have happened, to remain blissful in my ignorance, if the haunting memories that plague my existence were to be gone.

I feel a hand settle on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sharkticon." Mirage says, reverting for a brief moment to her feminine voice. "The past can't change. Treasure instead what you have now."

She is, of course, right. I allow a brief pained sigh, revealing my weakness for only a moment, then stand. "There's nothing of value here." I mutter. "Let's go."

Mirage's voice returns to normal. "I believe you're right. Those power cores have been long stripped." She - I'm sorry, he, brings up his comm. "Mirage to Repugnus. Found anything?"

"We ain't found slag."

She switches frequencies. "Wheeljack?"

"We found a secondary docking station. Looks like it's been disturbed recently, but otherwise nothing here."

"Looters must have got to this rock already." Mirage ponders. "All right, everyone back to the ship."

He turns, ready to head back. I give one last glance back at the wreckage, spotting the fallen Sharkticon again, and turn back-

And to my horror, I see Mirage's body get thrown backwards under a torrent of laser-fire, blasts tearing through his midsection, fir pouring from his insides as he falls to the ground.

I don't waste time reacting. I transform, flipping around and becoming a shark-like war vessel. My hull splits open, and two brilliant beams of energy blast into the darkness as I hover over to Mirage. A laugh answers my attack, and something flies over my head. I jump back into robot mode and whirl, facing the opponent who stands before me now.

Wings grace the back of his form, a broad chest adorned with a symbol that matches Mirage's, and claw like hand retracted to form burning energy guns. From beneath the dome-like head, two eyes glare at me evilly.

"I suspected you wouldn't be able to resist this." Thrust laughs, weapons aimed at my chest. I hear a noise behind me and see two more Decepticons run forward, surrounding me. I do my best to stand over the Captain's body, praying silently that he's not dead yet. "But it's too late now. I'm glad you are here to witness the final moments of the Dread Pirate Mirage before I rid the universe of his scum forever!"

His aim shifts downwards, aiming at Mirage's head. With a yell and a desperate plot that I know won't work, I hurl myself at him, keeping low and bringing my hand up, knocking his weapon off target so it hits the ceiling. Thrust grunts, and knees me in the chest. Pain shoots through the circuitry, and before I can move again, Thrust's powerful hands hit me behind my neck, dropping me to the floor.

"Nice try." Thrust mutters. "But you can't rid me of my prize."

"But we can, Decepticon!" I glance up - Wheeljack and Snowcat! Snowcat lets out a wild whoop and transforms, charging forward into one of Thrust's guards. Wheeljack's energy-batons glow with a yellow charge, and he heads into the fray behind him, wielding them like swords.

Thrust gives an angry roar, and charges toward the Captain's body. I push myself to my feet, transforming as my engines ignite, and throwing my full weight into the Decepticon, who flails backwards with a cry. I flip back into robot mode, and proceed to pound on him as best I can- but he's far stronger than I. He throws me aside easily, clambering to his feet and aiming his weapon at Mirage again. A buzzing sound suddenly fills the room, and Repugnus appears, leaping at him with an unnatural shriek, scythes slashing wildly at Thrusts weaponry.

Overbite is there a moment later, collecting the Captain's body with one arm and laying down cover-fire with the other.

Taking command as best I can of the situation, I bellow out, "Fall back!", knowing full well that everyone already knows what to do.

Snowcat transforms into his tank-like form, and Overbite places the Captain on his back. Then as one, Overbite and I let loose a final barrage of fire on the Decepticons, as Repugnus, Wheeljack and Snowcat, laden with his precious cargo, hurries back into the shaft. We give them a head start with our fire, then both transform, heading off after them.

"How'd you know to come for us?" I gasp at Wheeljack as we follow them.

"After the Captain called I realized the dust had been disturbed too recently." He answers. "I figured there be trouble, but when I couldn't reach the captain, I headed this way as fast as I could."

"Good man." I answer.

"Is the Captain all-right?" Snowcat asks, sounding more worried then I would typically give him credit for.

"He'll be fine." I bark, knowing full well the danger of the lie. "Now move it!"

We head down the corridor, but I can still hear the Decepticons in pursuit...

---

We barge into the ship, Snowcat wheeling in the Captain's body, and taking him back to his chambers. I yell as loudly as my vocals will allow, "Get us out of here!"

Well-trained we are, and everyone snaps back to attention, immediately on full alert status - but one annoying voice filters through the comm. "Sir, the engines have not been through their final diagnostic yet-"

"PRIMUS DAMN YOU!" I scream, "START THEM NOW!"

'But sir!" Arc's voice squawks, but apparently he thinks the better of his further objections and shuts up. A moment later, I can hear the engines hum and then roar to life. Cannonball grabs the helm, yanking the wheel to the side, and with a grinding moan, we tear free of the asteroid station, and head out into the field.

"What happened?" Cannonball demands as I head to my place beside the Captain's chair - disturbingly empty now.

"Decepticon ambush." I growl. "Get us out of this field. Quick, before-"

A sudden blast rocks our ship. I order the screens to the rear, and grimace at the triangular vessel pursuing us. It's the same warship Thrust hit us with last time - it's faster and more heavily armed and armored than we are. There's no way we can beat it in a fight. Slag... They'll catch us easily if we get into open space. Now what?

"I'm taking us deeper into the field." Cannonball announces. "Let's see if they can out-fly me!"

I nod. Mirage would have done the same. "Do it, fast!"

Cannonball grabs the wheel and spins, and our ship takes a sudden turn and dives into the sea of rocks below. The Decepticon ship follows us, energy streaming out of its forward cannons. And this is where Cannonball's skill truly shows itself.

With a mastery I've not seen in any other helmsmen, Cannonball weaves between the rocks before us and the blasts behind, strafing between the scattered rocks and darting between narrow ledges. On the screen, the Decepticon ship attempts to mirror us, but its larger bulk can't help but brush some of the rocks, chipping off bits of armor. It can't make the narrow turns we can...

"Cannonball!" I yell, with a sudden, desperate flash of inspiration. "Take us up. Straight up!"

"Out of the field?" Cannonball gasps.

"Just do it!"

"All right..." Cannonball says hesitantly, before obeying my orders. Our ship lurches, her engines protesting as she charges upwards, weaving and turning through the asteroids, and then breaking free of them, bursting through the ocean of rocks and into the endless sea of stars.

"Now! Turn us around, and get us back into the field!"

Cannonball glances back at me, then grins as he realizes what I'm doing. "Aye!" He gives the wheel a violent yank and we lurch to the side, the ship squealing in protest. As our turn completes, the Decepticon ship bursts through the asteroids after us, weapons grazing our hull.

"Repugnus, Overbite, weapons on full! Fire as we pass them!'

"Aye!"

We shoot past the cons, already trying to make their own turn, and rake their side with weapons. As we do, a barrage of missiles lets loose from their ship, tearing explosions along ours, we reel, and then spin as we enter the field again, debris from one of our wings joining the field. The ship lurches violently as we dodge, Cannonball frantically spinning the wheel back and forth, squeezing through the asteroids as we go deep, deep into the dense cluster near the center.

"Find us a cove." I growl at Cannonball. He nods, his visor scanning for a crevice to park our ship into. A scan in our sensors shows the Decepticon ship has disappeared... temporarily. We lost them for a moment.

Cannonball spots a large hollowed rock, and brings us alongside it, bringing us underneath its shadow.

"Put everything in standby." I order, as the lights dim, plunging us into near darkness. At these low power levels, the Cons will have difficulty following us. Thank Primus.

As we lapse into darkness, I collapse back into the Captain's chair, ignoring the surprised glances of the other crew members. At this point, I don't care. It hurts to move, like every sap of power has been drained from my body. The Captain would have handled this far better then I. I glance at the ship diagnostic and wince. Those blasts hit us harder than I realized. A good section of our wing is gone, and we have some critical hits along the starboard. If we get out of this alive, the repairs will be timely and costly. Great. Mirage will kill me.

I notice a bunch of optics staring at me expectantly. "Yes?" I growl.

"We're waiting for orders, sir." Wheeljack says flatly.

"The hell with orders!" I roar. "Do what you can, all right?"

They look at me woefully, and scurry off. Even I can see the disappointment plain in their eyes. Slaggit, how does Mirage keep his cool under this kind of pressure? When Thrust hit us last time, he barely so much as winced during the fight, even as Livewire and Vanquish fell. How does he do that? That's the skill that makes him the captain, and not me.

Mirage...

I look up suddenly. "Cannonball, can you fix the Captain?"

Cannonball glances back and shrugs. "I learned how to patch a few together during my war days. I don't know much though. I can try."

"You're the best option we have. Get him back online."

"I don't think that's the best course of action." Wheeljack says suddenly. "If the Cons attack again, we'll need Cannonball's skill to pilot the ship."

"He's got a point." Cannonball adds. "I don't remember much, but I do know it ain't a good idea to leave someone mid-repair."

"Slaggit." I swear. "Can't someone else take the helm?"

"Not in these conditions." Cannonball replies.

"Slaggit." I'm repeating myself, but it's the only thing I can think of to say.

"With all due respect," A voice says nervously. "I believe I can repair the Captain."

"No. Absolutely not." I answer without looking at him. "I refuse to leave the Captain's life in the hands of a Quint."

A whirring sound signals Arc switching to another face. "With all due respect," He says again, (He must be doing that just to annoy me), "I looked at the Captain. He's in critical condition."

I turn toward Cannonball. "Forget the helm. Get to the Captain-"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Wheeljack says. "Cannonball isn't trained for emergencies."

"He's still right." Cannonball adds.

"I have the knowledge and the skill for such an operation." Arc says hesitantly. "I may be the only one on the ship who can do it."

"Like Slag you will." I hiss.

"He is qualified." Wheeljack says softly.

"Let him do it." Cannonball adds.

I eye the two of them for a moment, my mind racing. I don't trust Arc. Not with something as important as the Captain's life. I wouldn't let the Fiver get within 5 feet of the Captain in this state. I know what one Fiver can do. My entire existence is because of it. All that pain and suffering...

"The past can't change. Treasure instead what you have now."

Damn it. Mirage is right. Mirage is always right. To the Pit with it.

"Get to it." I turn on Arc. "And Mirage better be in one piece when you're done."

"You have my word of honor." Arc says solemnly. I want to make a crack about a Quintesson's honor, but the look on his face is sincere - a look I've never seen on a Quintesson's face before.

Arc spins and heads off. I glance at the crew. "The rest of you... make whatever repairs you can. I need a moment to think."

They oblige and return to work, and I allow myself the luxury of pondering the events of the day.

---

Time stretches on with miserable slowness. Nanos, and then clicks tick away with no sign of our pursuers. Thank Primus. I watch grimly as the crew bustles about, making repairs where they can. But all of them are nervous and jumpy. We can't hide here forever, and we all know it. None more-so than I. Something is nagging me about the entire incident but I can't put my finger on it. Something not quite right...

Slag, that Quintesson better not be screwing up Mirage's systems.

I note a sudden rumbling and leap to my feet, ready for action- but Cannonball shakes his head. "This rock's geology isn't stable." He mutters. "A good hit from another asteroid would shatter it. I could have picked a better spot."

"Worry about it later." I growl.

"We may have to." Cannonball mutters. "If this rock breaks, not only is our cover blown, but there's a good chance the debris will damage us."

Hooray. Another thing to worry about.

"Sir..." A hesitant voice grabs my attention. I glance over and find Wheeljack grimacing at his readouts. I head over and inspect them. A quick glance shows nothing out of order to my eyes. "What is it?" I growl.

"I'm getting a faint trace. Almost nonexistent... but yes, there it is again."

My eyes narrow on the small bit of data that flashes across the screen. By the Pit, what was that? I shake my head, I must be imagining things. It's just an asteroid bit or...

Then a sudden thought enters my mind. What had been nagging me, I suddenly see with crystal clarity. How did the Decepticons sneak into that base without us knowing it? How did we not see their ship?

And then the blip reappears, and the answer is frighteningly obvious.

"CANNONBALL!" I yell, "GET US OUT OF HERE!"

Cannonballs leaps at the wheel, simultaneously spinning it and starting the engine. As he does, from nowhere two bolts of energy streak at our hull, skimming the surface and shaking the ship. Slag, how could I have been so blind? A cloaking device!

Cannonball hits the accelerator and we charge forward, Repugnus and Overbite raking the area with our guns. Several stray shots impact on empty space, which shimmers for a moment, then explodes with two direct hits. Their cover blown, the Decepticon ship drops the field, materializing right on our tail. Slaggit, here we are again - but Thrust is much closer on us this time. I can almost hear his mocking laughter.

"Orders, sir?" Cannonball yells from the wheel.

"I'm working on it." I growl. "Give me a nano!"

"We may not have a nano left!" Wheeljack yells back.

Slag, what to do, what to do... Dammit, the Quints gave me this brain and it won't work fast enough! What can I do...

"If I may be so bold," A voice says behind me, "I have an idea."

I whirl, my eyes brightening at the voice. "Captain!"

Mirage is there, clutching his side and supporting himself on Arc. But he's alive and online. Thank Primus, we may have a chance after all!

"Cannonball," Mirage gasps. "Take us out of the field. Straight-up."

"We did that already Captain." Cannonball says grimly. "It didn't work."

Mirage falters. "Oh."

Well, there went our one chance.

"They're gaining!" Wheeljack warns, his words proven by hit on our tail side. Slaggit... My optics turn and gaze out at the asteroids, the only thing keeping us from already being space dust. Slag it all, if they weren't such good pilots... Or...

Or if...

Another flash of inspiration. "Are our boarding beams working?" I yell suddenly.

"You're not going to board a Decepticon vessel!" Arc says, horror in his voice.

"No... we're not." Mirage says, his optics lightening up as he realizes my idea. "Wheeljack, start launching them at asteroids!"

Wheeljack turns, hands deftly flying over the controls. A moment later, two yellow beams launch out of opposite sides of our ship, gripping onto passing rocks, and towing them behind us.

"Now, let go!" Mirage orders. The rocks continue on their course, closing the gap behind where we were. The Decepticon ship swerves to its side, but one of the rocks tears along it's hull, leaving a huge, ugly gash.

"Fire again!" Mirage orders. Two more asteroids end up on a collision course behind us, then another two and another two, and still more after that. Behind us the Decepticons attempt to dodge and weave but to no avail, as the asteroids continually rip holes into their side. Then we tether a larger rock and sent it hurtling back at them. The Cons don't have a chance as it bisects one of the ships wings, sending their vessel spinning off into the field. I can almost hear Thrust's roar of rage.

"Now!" Mirage cries. "Cannonball, get us out of here!"

"With pleasure." Cannonball answers, bringing the acceleration out to full. Once more we dive out into the endless sea of stars, this time leaving our pursuer battered upon the rocks, as we head out into the endless horizon.

"By the way," Mirage says weakly, a smile in his eyes. "I want my chair back."

"By all means Captain," I say hastily, stepping aside. "You may take it."

---

I come up on the small egg-shaped body who is staring quietly up at the engines. "Ahem." I grunt softly. The heads rotate around and one stares back up at me. "Yes?" Arc asks quietly.

I stiffen, and spit out my planned message quickly. "The Captain wanted me to tell you that the rattle is gone. He thanks you for your effort at restoring the engines. They performed well. He also thanks you for restoring his systems. He feels much better."

"I am just doing my job." Arc answers, spinning away.

I clear my throat as best I can. "And I, err, also wanted to apologize. You came through. Thank you."

Arc says nothing, but continues to stare up at the engines. I take the opportunity to exit. I don't like Fivers. I never will. But I suppose he's not too bad. For a Quintesson.

---

"Checkmate." I announce, again.

"You know, it bothers me." Mirage says softly. "How is it such a brilliant mind does not even desire leadership? I sometimes think you would make a far better captain than I."

I shake my head as I rearrange the pieces. "Strategy I can do. The authority you command is something far beyond my grasp."

"Only if you make it so." Mirage answers, moving her- I mean, his piece in its first move. "You've got a capable mind. If anyone were to take my place, I'd want it to be you."

"I'm honored Captain." I answer, moving my piece in response. "But thanks anyway, I'll leave it to you as long as possible."

"If you say so, my Dear Sharkticon."

I sigh. "For the last time Captain, I really do hate that title."

"Maybe someday I won't have to call you it." Mirage answers, moving her piece forward. She- I mean, he, spins around and leans his head back and stares out at the stars, the dreamy look in his eyes again. "For now, let's move on, wherever the horizon brings us."

"Yes." I say quietly. "Wherever it brings us."

-----


End file.
